August

Bronze medal for Chris and Gabby at Glasgow 2017

Their TOTAL BWF World Championships journey may have come to an end at the semi-final stage but Chris and Gabby Adcock insist taking their place on the podium on Sunday will be one of the proudest moments of their careers.

Facing Chinese pair Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen, the Adcocks were defeated 21-15 23-21 but will still leave Glasgow’s Emirates Arena with a bronze medal hanging from their necks.

The Adcocks struggled to match their opponents’ pace in the first game, Zheng and Chen controlling proceedings from the very start to take the early advantage with relative ease.

The second game, however, was a much tighter affair, the Adcocks battling neck-and-neck for every point before drawing level with Zheng and Chen at 20-20.

They saved three match points as they desperately tried to send the match into a decider, but in the end their opponents prevailed, and will face Olympic champions Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir in the final.

“We really didn’t bring a good level, especially in the first game. It’s frustrating because we’ve been playing well all week,” said Gabby.

“We didn’t bring our level and we didn’t bring our style, we were more worrying about what they were going to bring to us.

“In the second game we turned that around, we decided to concentrate on ourselves and dictate. It showed and we really got into the game a lot more.

“We’ve got lots to learn, we’re disappointed, but we want to do more and we want to do better.

“We just want to do better and want to be world champions, but standing on that podium on Sunday, I’m sure I’ll feel super proud and it’s hopefully a step in the right direction.”

Despite their disappointment in defeat, the Adcocks can leave Glasgow with their heads held high, continuing their remarkable form that has also seen them crowned European champions.

But add in the fact that badminton had its UK Sport funding cut in December, and this success strides to a whole new level for the husband-and-wife pair.

This is a medal win that matters not only to them, but for Britain too – and they know it.

“The team came away from the Olympics with a medal, and us and Raj [Ouseph] became European champions,” said Chris.

“Kirsty [Gilmour] also did really well this week and picked up a European silver medal earlier in the year.

“We’ve always known that we have a good squad, we’ve really had to fight through a tough time and I think it just goes to show the resilience of the squad.

“I’m super proud of Gabs, super proud of us and what we’ve achieved this week, but it never feels good ending on a loss.”

The TOTAL BWF Badminton World Championships 2017 is being staged at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena from 21-27 August.

It is being delivered by BADMINTONscotland in partnership with Glasgow Life and Glasgow City Council and with funding support from EventScotland and The National Lottery through UK Sport.